


Stable Song

by eovaldi



Category: Baseball RPF
Genre: M/M, cw: hockey mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-24
Updated: 2020-02-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 13:18:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22873228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eovaldi/pseuds/eovaldi
Summary: Joe Mauer steps onto the diamond at Target Field. Justin Morneau is at his side. It’s something he’s done hundreds of times in his life probably, but...
Relationships: Joe Mauer/Justin Morneau
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Stable Song

Joe Mauer steps onto the diamond at Target Field. Justin Morneau is at his side. It’s something he’s done hundreds of times in his life probably, but...

There’s the crunch of snow under his boots, for starters. The field is empty, except for a camera crew. And the worst part, neither of them have played baseball for...years now. Which hurts to admit, because sometimes, Joe still feels like sometimes any second, he’ll get a phone call, and he’ll be back in the dugout.

It just feels so eerie. He stands there for a moment, while Justin wanders over to where the cameras are set up. They’re supposed to be filming a commercial for the Winter Classic next year. When Justin had gotten the call, his face had lit up like he was a child. “Of course we’ll do it!”

_“We?”_ Joe had mouthed, and Justin had nodded excitedly. He was right. Joe did want to do it. It just felt...right. No matter what happened in their lives, it felt like hockey was something that brought them closer.

Besides baseball. And the concussions.

The first time Joe could remember knowing he was going to love Justin forever was playing hockey in the aisle of the sporting goods store. They still regularly strapped on their skates, got a little drunk, and ran drills together. Most nights in the house, some game or another was on in the background, while Joe and Justin cooked, or drank, or messed around.

So that was how they wound up at the field in the dead of winter, the snow on the ground had frozen into ice, covering and certainly killing the grass beneath it. Joe feels like he stepped into a ghost story. He’s filled with the childlike urge to let out a yell, and see how far the echo travels. But more than anything, the empty field in the dead of winter just makes him sad. Of course he will go to games this year, he goes every year, he’s woven into the fabric of Twins baseball now, just the same way that Justin’s voice pipes through so many televisions and laptops. But it isn’t ever really going to be the same. The spring will come, the grass will be replanted. The new rookies will make the trek down to Fort Meyers. The division banner will be hoisted up, and the season will start.

And Joe will just have to stand on the sidelines and watch it all. Like any fan. Like he doesn’t know what it feels like to hit a ball so well you know from the sound of it that you’ve got a homer. Like he’s behind glass, being kept from the only thing he's ever wanted to do in his entire life. The thing he was built to do. He’ll have to pretend not to long for it, the crowds, the men all squeezed together in a dugout, he misses the spitting even. In his mind, he knows baseball isn’t forever, of course. He always knew that one day it’d be over. It was going to consume his whole life until suddenly, it’d be gone. He just never thought it’d happen so quickly. Standing inside a little chalk box with a chunk of wood in his hand, Joe Mauer had forgotten he wasn’t immortal. But standing at the foot of a metal giant, a yawning cavern that usually is filled with life and baseball, he just feels so _fucking_ small. His body reminds him every day why he's not playing anymore, but being here right now, it feels _wrong_. He should be playing. He was a ballplayer, _is_ a ballplayer. He should be getting ready for spring, not standing here in this destitute stadium, missing something he can't ever get back.

“Hey, Earth to Mauer! Paging Space Cadet Mauer!” Justin’s teasing snaps Joe out of his melancholy. It feels like the first time he’s looked, really looked at Justin in a long time. The cold is making his cheeks and nose red, and a couple of curls are peeking out from his beanie. In his hands, he holds two gloves, and a baseball. Joe feels like his heart starts back up. “Are we gonna play catch, or what?”

Joe can’t stop himself from smiling. Leave it to Justin to know when he's getting stuck in his head.

“How can I say no to catch with Justin Morneau?”

**Author's Note:**

> Based off [this](%E2%80%9C) terrible ad for the winter classic. No one ever taught these men to act! Title comes from Stable Song by Death Cab For Cutie which reminds me of Joe...  
Please comment if you liked it!


End file.
